Here are the home locations and loyalties of current BoG members. I can see four problems with this just by glancing at the map. Light purple is "neutral" but some are from lesser NC System alma maters and their loyalty may be to mother. Notice the complete absence of the color green.

I had previously emailed the UNC BOG, but I didn't get any replies. I just sent another message including this article, and finally got a reply from one of them. He said that he has seen the article and appreciates Dr. Reiling's perspective. That probably counts for absolutely nothing, but it was nice to at least get a reply.

Reminder, if you haven't sent a message to the BOG already, here's some more ammo.

jfickett

My letter to the Chancellor. He probably wont even read it, but it was worth a shot.

Chancellor Dubois,

There is nothing on this Earth that brings me more joy than being a student at UNC Charlotte. I firmly believed that this school was the right place for me from the moment I first arrived on campus for my tour. Now, as I approach graduation four years later, I can say with a clear conscience that my feelings of loyalty, pride, and satisfaction of my college experience have increased in folds. One of the most appealing things to me about this great University, both in the past and the present, is the feeling that the best is always yet to come. I saw an opportunity to become a student leader, to make an impact, to leave my mark, and most importantly have a hand in the steady march that we as a University are making towards national prominence and regional adoration and respect. I joined SGA, helped push the grassroots football effort, and continue to work with students everyday so that they may hopefully understand the Forty-Niner Pride that I have and realize how important it is for them to have the same pride in their university.

With that said, there is one pressing issue that we face; an issue that is far more important than football, a name change, new marketing, or increased enrollment. I am of course talking about the addition of a 4-year medical school at UNC Charlotte. I fear that the current plan for UNC-Chapel Hill to put a branch campus adjacent to our university will be nothing less than a devastating, crippling blow to our University's chance of ever attaining the national prominence or regional respect it deserves. The current plan is purely the continuity of the "know your role, shut your hole" mentality that we constantly deal with from the General Assembly and UNC Board of Governors. As many have noted, specifically Dr. Richard Reiling in this morning's Charlotte Observer column, the current plan is not beneficial to the city of Charlotte or UNC Charlotte in any way, shape, or form. It is merely a band-aid (and that would be a best case scenario) that does not suture the wound of a severe shortage of M.D.'s in our region. These incoming medical students will not feel any loyalty to UNC Charlotte; they will instead continue feeding the baby-blue machine, waiting eagerly to finish their degree at the mothership institution. Not only that, but as Dr. Reiling mentioned, there is very little chance they will return to the Charlotte region upon graduation, and even if they did, they will proudly claim UNC School of Medicine as their alma mater, not UNC Charlotte.

Indeed, the politics of this issue within the UNC System are more complicated for you than they are for me, a lowly undergraduate with some fire in his belly. Other institutions such as UNCG have fallen victim to the influence of the mothership when they want to expand their professional programs, as evidenced by the nixing of their proposed Pharm D program in favor of a branch UNC-CH program. But please understand that this University has always had to plow through detractors for over six decades, and the push is more important now than ever before, especially concerning the Medical school that I fear will never belong to us. I applaud your efforts for controlled enrollment growth, loyalty to football even in these economic times, the never-ending construction (while annoying to drive through, nothing makes me more proud than to see new buildings shoot up everywhere), and the ever-increasing academic profile under your tenure here. On this issue, however, we must not lay down. We must not accept that this is the "best option in these economic times" as you stated in the Observer article on Sept. 23. The only medical school built in Charlotte needs to be an INVESTMENT IN OUR FUTURE, not another notch in the belt for Chapel Hill while the baby-blue BOG laughs all the way to the bank. I believe in my heart of hearts that Miss Bonnie would do backflips in her grave if the current branch-campus plan were to go into action.

....ctd

Logged

jfickett

"I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I ought to do, and what I ought to do, by the Grace of God, I will do." Miss Bonnie's mantra has never been more applicable to any one situation than the one we face currently. We have not done everything in our power to ensure that the future of this University is as bright and prosperous as it could be. UNC Charlotte will only realize its full potential as a complete University. Football is a base camp. Our Ph.D. programs are the glaciers we use our pick axes to scale. Professional schools (specifically a medical school) are the summit. We have a mountain to climb, Chancellor Dubois, and you are our trusted Sherpa. Please do not give up on making the UNC Charlotte School of Medicine a reality, for I honestly believe that this is a battle than can be won.

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